Bhubaneswar: At a time when Odisha and the Odia language were struggling for stability and nationalism, Bhaktakavi Madhusudan Rao brought back the heart and glory of our state by publishing the book Barnabodha, said Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on the occasion of the launch of reprinted edition of ‘Barnabodha’ and its digital copy organised by the Odia Language, Literature and Culture Department.
The state government has set a target to print 10,000 copies of this book this year. The Chief Minister said that re-publishing ‘Barnabodha’ written by Bhaktakavi Madhusudan Rao on the occasion of his birth anniversary is the best tribute of Odia people to him.
The Chief Minister, while participating in a programme organised at Krushi Bhawan in Bhubaneswar, said that Bhaktakavi Madhusudan Rao has very beautifully demonstrated in ‘Barnabodha’ how to teach Odis alphabets, colors, consonants, words, word formation, and sentence formation to the tender students in a simple way.
Stating that mother, motherland and mother tongue are the greatest identity of any human being, the Chief Minister said only a fool can ignore this. “The language of ‘Barnabodha’ is very simple and easy. By giving simple examples like animals, birds, mornings, evenings, and the surrounding sceneries, the devotee poet attracted the tender minds. This book became a part of every Odia family in a very short time and it reached every home. The book was first published in 1895 and its popularity grew so much that between 1895 and 1901, there were eight editions of the book.”
The Chief Minister said, “We have all grown up reading ‘Barnabodha’. There is no alternative to Barnabodha for teaching Odia language. This book is necessary for learning pure Odia. Today, ‘Joyful Teaching & Learning’ is being implemented in our modern primary education system. Its aim is to teach through pictures, toys and examples for easy learning by children. In fact, the father of this education system was Madhusudan Rao. He made teaching easy through small verses.”
He further said, “Barnabodha is the favourite book of every Odia. It is an eternal masterpiece that has influenced the education of our state for a long time. Even after 130 years, there is no alternative to it. The contributions of eminent linguists and writers including Kailash Chandra Tikayat Ray, Dash Benhur, Baishnab Charan Mohanty, Haraprasad Mishra and Santosh Kumar Rath in publishing the new illustrated edition of the book released by the Odia Language Institute are commendable.” He thanked the Odia Language, Literature and Culture Department and the Odia Language Institute for this initiative.
The Chief Minister expressed his hope that this new edition will be very popular with all children and it will help them to learn Odia language easily.
Deputy Chief Minister Parvati Parida said that nowadays children are being taught through pictures in smart classrooms. Bhaktakavi, born in 1853, was the one who gave this smart book to the children. At that time, awareness was created through literature. Our efforts to enrich our language and literature are ongoing and with your cooperation, it will definitely be strengthened.”
The Principal Secretary, Odia Language, Literature and Culture Department, Sanjeev Kumar Mishra welcomed the guests while Director Vijay Ketan Upadhyay proposed the vote of thanks.
